Hurricane Helene Relief

Helene devastated our beautiful High Country and many of its residents. Power was out, water and sewer systems were destroyed, and roads were impassable. In the first few weeks following the storm, we interviewed many people at various distribution centers in the region who were unable to cover basic necessities. We provided cash distributions to assist them through these first very trying weeks.

During this process, we also learned of more devastating crises. Family members were lost, many homes were totally destroyed or had to be completely gutted, and many more had to have floors, cabinetry and more ripped out and replaced. There are many charitable organizations working in the area to assist with rebuilding. Most of those who suffered catastrophic losses had no insurance and are struggling as they wait patiently for assistance from great organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, Chief Cares, the Red Cross, Mountain Ways, and more. Many groups in the are have banded together to provide assistance effectively and efficiently. We are working with many of those groups to provide housing and the long-term needs of storm survivors.

Our goal during this period has been to help people purchase needed supplies to begin rebuilding their homes and lives. Below are some of the situations ERHH has provided a helping hand.

• A family with 2-year-old twins who lost their home.
• A lady whose mobile home was swept away; she escaped with only an overnight bag of belongings.
• A family who lost all of their furniture and belongings on the main level of their rental home.
• A family with extensive flood damage to their home and lost their vehicles. Their roof, road, driveway and fence were also damaged.
• A wife and mother who lost her husband after rescuers worked over 9 hours to extract him from a mudslide. She also lost her home. Her son and his family also lost their home.
• A farmer who lost road access, pasture land, tools, equipment, fencing, hay, etc., with massive amounts of debris to remove. Their house was also flooded.
• A father and son narrowly escaped as a mudslide took their home, while they listened to the cries for help from their wife and mom. Tragically, she did not survive.

There are so many stories of devastating losses. To date Elk River Helping Hands has responded to requests for assistance from almost 200 individuals and families in desperate need of help. As requests come to us, we reach out to local first responders and others in town and county leadership positions to vet the needs. In some cases, we refer requests to other charitable organizations. We also help storm survivors locate particular items such as heaters, clothing, temporary housing and more.

Many in our mountain community are hesitant to ask for help. We have compiled a list through community contacts of those in need and we are proactively reaching out to them to see how Elk River Helping Hands can help.

Assistance is delivered in person to the families and individuals who need our help. Their stories are emotional and heart wrenching, but their resilience is inspiring. It’s hard to put into words the experiences we’ve had while meeting with such brave people who have lost so much but continue to go on, helping themselves and helping others in their recovery. Elk River Helping Hands is grateful for our donors who have allowed us to provide a helping hand.